Youngsters from Solana Santa Fe Elementary joined in the spirit of the season at Helen Woodward Animal Center, volunteering to spruce up the grounds and visit with the animals. Courtesy photos

Youngsters from Solana Santa Fe Elementary joined in the spirit of the season at Helen Woodward Animal Center, volunteering to spruce up the grounds and visit with the animals. Courtesy photos

In the midst of holiday shopping, cyber sales and frantic have-to-haves, more than 85 Tuesday Giving volunteers including the students, gathered at 7:45 a.m. to help orphan pets in need at Helen Woodward Animal Center. Demonstrating that giving doesn’t always require money, the Giving Tuesday volunteers instead gave their hearts, time and energy to tasks around center grounds.

Approximately 75 school children (grades two through four) from Solana Santa Fe, along with employees from Southwest Airlines, and Snooze AM Eatery in Del Mar, provided philanthropic holiday cheer. They repainted the center’s humane education building; prepped craft projects for the center’s upcoming Frosty Farms Event; and donated pet food to the center’s AniMeals Program – providing pet food to homebound elderly.

For information on how you can help Helen Woodward Animal Center, call (858) 756-4117, ext. 305 or click on animalcenter.org/volunteer. Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe.